She GOT OFF the Plane
by fangiirl4ever
Summary: Ross and Rachel, minutes after they finally make up in The Last One
1. Chapter 1

She got off the plane. She actually got off the plane.

It hadn't really sunk in until now, until minutes later, when Ross and Rachel were still standing there, holding desperately onto each other. Her thin arms were wrapped around his neck, her head on its familiar spot on his chest. His arms were wrapped around her small body, holding her as close to him as was possible.

They were never letting go now. This was it.

"I never want to move," Rachel whispered. They were rocking slowly on the spot, enjoying the comfort of each other, and the quiet peacefulness that hung in the room.

Ross kissed her neck, before pulling her back slightly so he could see her face. "Could we move to the couch?"

She smiled. They partially separated, keeping their hands firmly locked, as they made their way over to the couch. He laid down, and she moved so her head was resting on his chest. His arm wrapped around her, rubbing small circles on her back.

"Thank you Ross."

Rachel moved her head so she was able to see him, and her blue eyes met his dark brown ones. They looked at each other for a moment, before Ross leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Why?"

"I wanted this. I seriously wanted this so much, but I never would have done anything. If you hadn't shown up, and said those things, I would never have tried anything with you. Because I was scared, and I didn't want to think about where this would go again... but now I know for sure, this is where I want to be." Tears came to her eyes, but he whipped them away. "So thank you. And... I'm sorry – for not getting off the plane right away..."

Ross laughed, and squeezed her slightly. "Yeah, I thought I had actually lost you... I thought you were actually gone." Rachel frowned. Another tear starting falling, and Ross noticing, kissed it away before meeting her lips in a sweet kiss. He pulled back, saying, "But that doesn't matter anymore. Because you are here now."

Rachel put her head back down on his chest. Ross started playing with her hair, running his hand through the smooth, golden strands.

They laid there in the comfortable silence, neither feeling the need to do or say anything in this moment. This was different than all the other times that the two of them had made up: every time they kissed, it always led to the bedroom. This time, however, they were content in just being with each other, enjoying the feeling of finally being together again.

"They don't know, do they?" Rachel said suddenly, mumbling the words into his shirt. "They think I'm on my way to Paris."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Rachel sat up a bit, still resting her head on his chest. "How should we tell them?" She smiled.

Ross seemed to think about it for a moment, before answering.

"Monica and Chandler are moving out tomorrow, and I said I'd be there. So I guess I could show up with, you know, a special guest."

Rachel laughed, which made Ross smile hugely. He loved that sound. And he loved making that sound come out of her mouth. Her laugh was something that would always cheer him up, and the last few days, one of the many thoughts running through his head was the fact that he would never really hear the beautiful sound again.

They fell back into the comfortable silence they had been in before. However, Rachel spoke up again.

"Could we go to your bed?" Rachel asked, yawning as she said it. Ross looked out the window, and saw that it was dark out. The clock beside the couch also read 10:50 pm. Somehow, the two of them had spent almost 4 hours, just laying next to each other, barely saying a word. And yet it felt amazing, this moment they had together.

"Is it not comfortable here?" Ross asked.

"No, it is! It's just..." Rachel paused, blushing slightly. "I've never really slept in your bed before –"

"Of course you have –"

"No, I mean, of course I've slept with you on the bed, but... I've never spent the night, just, sleeping! And it looks really comfy!" Rachel whined. Ross smiled, and sat up.

Standing up, and taking her hand, Ross said, "Come on, let's go to bed."


	2. Chapter 2

The morning came faster than either had hoped, but before they knew it, it was 10. Both had actually woken up around 8:30, but they couldn't find the energy to get up just yet, so they laid in bed for a while, Rachel's head on Ross' chest, and his arms wrapped around her body while they talked about absolutely anything.

Rachel rolled over so she was on the other side of the bed, and stretched, her arms reaching out and a soft moan escaping her lips. "Hmm... that was attractive."

Ross smiled, and rolled over too so that he was on top of Rachel. He bent down and kissed her slowly. Before anything happened, though, Rachel pushed him slightly away.

Smiling, she said, "We have to get up!"

"Now?" Ross whined, trying to kiss her again.

Rachel laughed, and moved out from under him, heading out to the kitchen. Since almost all of her clothes were currently in Paris, she had to borrow a shirt from Ross to wear to bed. Luckily it was warm in the apartment, so the shirt was okay as she left the warmth and comfort of the bedroom.

Ross followed her out, and started making breakfast for the two of them.

Rachel sat at the table, and watched Ross work, a big smile on her face. Ross turned around briefly, and noticed her staring at him.

"Something on my face?" Ross asked.

"No, I'm just happy," Rachel said.

Ross grinned goofily. "I'm happy too."

Ross turned and went back to cooking bacon. A few minutes later, Rachel got up and walked over to him.

"Do you need help or something?"

Ross laughed. "Help with cooking?"

"Yeah!"

"Rach, you don't cook. Ever. Not even toast." Rachel punched his arm in mock anger. "You seriously want to help? Why?"

"I don't know... We're kind of starting over, and I just feel like I never really did anything for you. You do so much for me, but I just sat around waiting for you. So I want to help." Rachel said.

Ross stopped what he was doing suddenly, and turned towards her. He grabbed her hands in his, and looked at her seriously. "Rachel, you have done so much for me. This conversation may have been different 10 years ago when you first moved to New York, but I can tell you, Rachel, you have changed so much since then. You are still that smart, funny, beautiful women I first fell in love with, but you have become independent, and strong, and caring. And I love you even more."

"Ross..." Rachel said, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"You have done more for me than I ever thought I deserved. And you have given me more than I ever thought I'd have in my life. You don't need to change anything, because I love you Rachel Green, just like this."

Tears started to roll down Rachel's face, so he whipped them away with his hand. "Ross!" Rachel wept. He pulled her in tightly to his chest, kissing the top of her head before resting his head in her hair. They stayed that way for a while until Rachel pulled back, leaning up to kiss him.

When they separated, Rachel turned towards the kitchen counter. "Seriously, though, I can still help out. I could just watch something, even!"

Ross laughed, kissing her cheek. "Could you get me some flour? I'm making pancakes."

"I can do that! I mean," Rachel paused, looking around the kitchen. "I can, if you tell me where the flour is..."

Ross smiled, before pointing out the cupboard she would need.

As Rachel was bringing the flour down, the bag fell onto the counter, flinging flour all over her. "Crap!"

Ross turned quickly towards her, and noticing the state she was in, doubled over laughing. Rachel's hair was almost white, and the Tshirt she was wearing had white streaks all along it.

"Hey, mister, this is not funny!" Rachel said, as Ross continued laughing. "It's not funny, my hair is – ugh!" Rachel stood there, trying desperately to whip the flour off of her, but an idea suddenly struck her. Slowly and quietly, while Ross was still laughing, Rachel approached him. He turned, however, and noticed her outstretched arms – covered in flour – coming near him, so he ran.

"No!" Ross yelled. He made it out of the kitchen, with Rachel following close behind.

"Ross, come here! I need a hug!" Rachel said, running after him. There wasn't much room in the apartment, so the two ended up running in circles around the couch. Ross really did not want to be covered in flour, but he couldn't help smiling as he ran away from Rachel. This moment was something totally unexpected yet fun, and he hoped that there would be many more moments like this with her.

Eventually, tired and dizzy from running in circles, Ross tried to take a short-cut over the couch, but tripped and fell. He ended up on his back on the cushions of the couch. Rachel saw this as the perfect opportunity, and went over the top of the couch as well, landing on top of him. He wrestled with her as she started shaking the flour onto him. They both couldn't stop laughing the whole time, and Rachel was reminded of another time like this, back at the beach house so many years ago.

After a few more minutes of playfully goofing around on the couch, Rachel moved off from on top of Ross, and lay beside him, the two squeezing together on the small couch.

"You're going to pay for that," Ross said, trying to fake angry.

"Yeah? What are you going to do?" Rachel said mockingly, kissing his lips lightly.

"This," Ross said, and started tickling her stomach. She squealed, and tried to get away, but Ross had moved so that he was on top of her, holding her small body in place.

"Ross! Stop, Ross," Rachel laughed, squirming around.

He continued tickling her, laughing along with her. Both of their laughs were the only noise in the apartment, and it was music to both of their ears. They were finally happy.


	3. Chapter 3

"How do you think they'll react?" Rachel asked as her and Ross made their way up the familiar stairs, heading to Monica and Chandler's apartment.

"Well I think they'll be shocked, that's for sure," Ross answered. "But I think they'll be very, very happy."

"Happier than you?"

"No one could be happier than I am right now."

They arrived at the door. Before they entered though, Ross pulled Rachel to him, wrapping his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head before pulling away. "How about I go in first… make it even more of a surprise."

She nodded, so Ross opened the door slowly and walked in.

"Hi," Ross said, his voice full of sorrow and pain. The apartment was empty except for the dog statue, the couch, and the four other friends squished together on that couch. As Ross came in and made himself know, four heads turned his way.

"Hey Ross, how are you?" Chandler said, concerned. Chandler, Monica, and Joey had all gotten the story from Phoebe, believing that Rachel was currently in Paris, and were all worried about Ross' current state.

"I don't know," Ross answered, pretending to be sad. It was hard for him because all he could think about was Rachel, and that always made him smile.

The four all got up immediately, and made their way over to Ross. As they all embraced in a group hug, Rachel decided to come in. She walked over to the group, and embraced the group from behind, wrapping her arms around Ross and Monica. Monica, feeling a new arm on her back, turned around suddenly.

"Rachel!" Monica yelled.

The other three turned around too, and noticed Rachel standing there.

Everyone was shocked at first, looking between Rachel and Ross, before Monica yelled again, and sprang forward to hug Rachel.

Ross just observed as his friends all embraced Rachel, a huge smile on his face.

When everyone backed away again, Rachel walked over to Ross and wrapped her arms around his waist. He did the same, enveloping her in his arms. He smiled down at her, and she smiled back. They looked at each other like this for a few moments, as everyone observed their happiness.

"So surprise!" Ross said, turning back to his friends.

"What happened? I mean, how? I mean, why? I mean – how?!" Chandler stuttered, confused.

Rachel smiled. "I guess I just couldn't leave," she said, smiling again at Ross. He leaned down and kissed the top of her forehead.

"But you got on the plane!" Phoebe said.

"Yeah, I did." Rachel said, and told the story. As she told the story, though, they all moved over to the couch. Monica and Chandler sat on one end, and Ross and Rachel on the other, while Joey and Phoebe sat on the ground across from them. Rachel intertwined her fingers with Ross', and leaned against him as they both recounted the sad story with the happy ending.


End file.
